| THE VISITOR |
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The Congregational Church of Austin, UCC
United Church of Christ
408 W. 23rd Street, Austin, TX 78705-5214 (512)472-2370
Fax: (512)472-1175 e-mail: ucausti@SWBell.net
http://congregational.faithweb.com
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Rev. Thomas J. VandeStadt, Pastor
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Rev. John Towery, Pastor Emeritus
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In Cormac McCarthy's novel, The Road, a father and son walk by themselves through a desolate landscape burned and blackened by fire. Hazy sooty ash fills the air turning the rain and snow the color of tar. When rain or snow isn't falling ash drifts from the sky and blankets the ground with thick dust. The father and son wear masks of torn clothing or curtains or towels on their faces so they won't breathe soot into their lungs but the father has a bad cough and he frequently coughs up blood.
Few people still live in this near lifeless terrain but some wander aimlessly or lurk in hiding places or prowl in armed gangs in a never-ending hunt for other people. These bad people the father and son must avoid at all cost.
The father knows he and his son cannot survive the north's cold winter so they walk south toward the coast. Their journey is fraught with peril so they proceed with extreme caution especially when approaching an abandoned farmhouse or a burned-out town or a toppled-over city. Gnawing hunger compels them to scavenge for canned meat and vegetables and fruit in those farmhouses and towns and cities but whenever they do they risk being captured by the bad people.
The father worries about his health and fears he will die and leave his son abandoned in this desolate and dangerous land. The son also worries his father will die and does whatever he can to care for him because he loves his father deeply. The father guards constantly against his son falling into depression or becoming despondent or withdrawing or giving up on life and he looks continuously for ways to instill hope in his son and convince him that life is worth living.
The father and son finally reach the windswept coast. The ocean is black.
But my God you're thinking what a depressing novel. In some ways it is. But in other ways it's quite moving. The relationship between father and son in the midst of this desolate and dangerous and lonely world is powerful. In that typical twist of phrasing that Cormac McCarthy employs in his writing he says of father and son "they were each other's world entire."
And that for me is the most powerful phrase in the book. "They were each other's world entire."
In a lonely place where death poisons the air and blankets the ground and lurks in dark cellars father and son are each other's sole reason for living. Their love for one another is the only meaning that exists in a world where every other meaning has burned away. In a world where each is vulnerable and neither can make it on his own they are truly each other's "world entire."
In Luke's Gospel we encounter a mother and her only son.
With the woman's husband already dead her only son is her sole source of support. Her only son is the sole source of her food and the roof over her head and the bed on which she sleeps and the stove on which she cooks and the clothing on her back and the few coins she has to spend. Her only son is the sole source of her honor and pride and standing within her community. Her only son is her sole lifeline. Her "world entire."
Now her only son is dead and without her only son she has nothing.
The gospels are full of stories about impoverished widows who have but one coin to their name and widows whom powerful people abuse. Who looks out for the widow? Everyone is supposed to. But who does?
With the death of her son she has lost her "world entire."
Jesus sees this woman and her dead son and he knows.
A mother with a broken heart. Another poor widow with but a coin to her name. Another whom the powerful will abuse.
Jesus' heart goes out to her. Jesus brings the widow's only son back to life and restores the woman's "world entire."
In the Jewish Talmud it says "save one life and you save an entire world."
The Talmud and Cormac McCarthy and Luke the Evangelist remind us that our entire worlds are created with and by and for one another. It is so obvious yet how easily we forget or take for granted that our entire worlds are created with and by and for one another.
No person is autonomous. No person is an island. If you are stranded on an island all by yourself you will create another person out of a volleyball and you will name him Wilson and he will become your "world entire" and when you lose him your heart will break and you will cry an ocean of grief.
People need one another to create and inhabit a world that is worth inhabiting. The father and son in McCarthy's novel create a world that is emotionally and psychologically and spiritually worth inhabiting even though the landscape around them is dead. Jesus gives a woman thrust into desolation her only son in order to bring her "world entire" back to life.
We live in uncertain times. They are not as dire and desolate and death-gripped as the post-apocalyptic landscape McCarthy describes but they are unnerving and stressful nevertheless. People are losing jobs and homes and futures they thought were stable and secure. Things are being stripped away exposing our vulnerabilities. Our children will inherit many difficult challenges.
In a world in which each is vulnerable and none can make it on their own let us remind ourselves what truly creates our "world entire." It is not what we have in our lives but who we have in our lives. Yes we need a roof and a bed and some food and a stove on which to cook it but the most fundamental need is our relationship with one another.
We are "each other's world entire." Regardless of what we have or no longer have let us together create a world that is worth inhabiting.
Tom
FROM THE TRUSTEES
The trustees have had a quiet month now that building repairs have finished. We are currently looking into ways to better allocate our funds across different investment classes.
CHRISTIAN OUTREACH
Your Board of Christian Outreach welcomes the opportunity to present an "Outreach Moment" on the third Sunday of every month during worship. In May the Board lifted up the Micah 6 Food Pantry which serves many low income and homeless individuals and families in the community. The CC of A has been a member of the food pantry since its planning stages. Many members of this congregation give and have given of their time and energy to this important outreach. Liz Nash is our current representative to Micah 6. She'd welcome your conversations and input. The Outreach Board - Dan Jeffery, Chair, Robin Chapman, Cecile Adam, Don Miles, Reuel Nash and Tom VandeStadt - thank you for all your support and all that you do for this community's outreach efforts. Stay tuned for an update moment in June.
Chairs of our Boards
Trustees: Jaime Hadley & Rhys Ulerich
Deacons: Barbara Burnham
Christian Outreach: Dan Jeffery
Moderator: John Goff
DEACON'S REPORT
After a careful and deliberate process, the Deacons have arranged a temporary pastor to work with our congregation during Tom VandeStadt's well-deserved sabbatical beginning in August and last through early November. Frank Dietz, a thoughtful UCC pastor with considerable experience, has agreed to serve our congregation on a part-time basis during this period. A liaison and support committee of congregation leaders will work closely with Frank to make his tenure a smooth, inspiring, and uplifting experience for him and for our church.
We now are actively searching for an elementary age Sunday school teacher and we are in the process of forming a committee to guide that search and support the teacher upon whom we eventually settle.
The Deacon's review of our current church website will likely result in a few tweaks and revisions to make the site as inviting and accessible as possible. One primary aim is to make our church easy to find for non-members who are searching for a congregation like ours. If you have any suggestions for the website, please be sure to share those with one of the Deacons.
In the coming months look for some new signage in the courtyard intended to guide visitors more helpfully to the entrance to our sanctuary.
In the coming weeks, we look forward to having a guest preacher lead our service on June 7 and a report from Tom in which he can share some of the important observations and insights he brought back from his recent trip to Israel.
PERSONALS
by Pat Oakes
George Hetrick says thank you to all those who donated and sponsored him in the April 25th Tenth Annual Hill Country Ride for AIDS. Your contribution really does make a difference - it will provide life-saving support to thousands of people living with HIV and AIDS. George made it to the ride on time (he no longer gets lost on the way), and made it through the ride, too. The rain had left by the start of the ride (he got caught on the way down), but the wind was certainly there, along with the lovely Texas heat, and quite a bit of humidity. By the end of the ride, he was actually happy for headwinds, since they cooled him down. He did skip the "olympic extension", which meant he only did 45 miles, instead of his planned 65 (but with the wind and humidity, it "felt" like 65). As of race time, George's total was $1030, but he had at least one other gift coming in, plus Sun Microsystems (his employer) will be matching a number of gifts, which should post the total over $1500!!! George is pleased to report that The Care Communities Team alone has raised over $12000.
Congratulations to Rhys Ulerich! On May 23rd he walked in his master's commencement ceremony. He received an M.S. in Computational and Applied Mathematics. Rhys says that Michelle deserves a medal for her help the past two years.
Steven and Jeanine Neuse are staying very busy in Fayetteville, AK, doing their thing. Recently, in one week, they were involved in SR. Demos, Volunteer Library Lunch, visiting with their Thailand travelers, dentist, Cooperative Emergency Outreach, Altrusa, International Culture Team banquet, Botanical Garden plant sale, and the League of Women Voters' State Convention. Whew!! It does keep them out of trouble and their joints moving! They even managed to get in dog walks, exercise center, and water exercises.
Karl and Andrea Putz sent a note from Chicago expressing their sorrow over the death of Melanie Wilkinson. They attended Easter sunrise services for a number of years while they were at the church--and loved hearing her voice ring out in song over Mt. Bonnell. On a happier note, they are expecting their second child at the end of September. Murphy, who turns 4 this June, is excited about being a big brother and has an endless number of questions on the topic. He is just wowing them left and right with his ability to learn new things and his big personality. He even started learning Spanish recently, per his request, after hearing someone speak it nearby. Every time they read the newsletter, they keep telling themselves they need to take a trip back to Austin!
Vic Appel has relocated to San Marcos. His new address is Vic Appel, Horizon Bay Retirement Living, 1720 Ranch Road 12, San Marcos, TS 78666. He is in room 216. His cell phone number is the same--512-801-4328.
Eunice Paul sends greetings to all of us and reports from England that Thomas David Nathaniel Tapley joined the family on April 25. He is Dean and Lydia's fourth grandchild - the first boy. Thomas belongs to Nathaniel and Zoe (a brother for Eleanor who will be 2 in July). They live not far away from Leatherhead in Redhill.
Don Miles returned to Austin on May 19th, after almost a month of travel. He took photos of a 1797 British invasion reenactment in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and spent the following week at the American Association of Museums convention in Philadelphia. Then, he drove to Columbia, Missouri, for his daughter's and his grandson's graduations. Juliette, is retired from the military and earned a second college degree in Equine Administration..His youngest grandson, Garrett, turned 18 on May 16th, the same day that Don turned 73. He also included a side trip to the Cavalry Museum at Fort Riley, Kansas.
Alison Goodgame, Savanna, Harrison, and Pam Tucker drove to Dallas on April 24th for the weekend. Pam's nephew, Kyle and his wife, Leigh, live there and they have a daughter Jessica who is 1 year younger than Savanna and a son, Tucker, who is 1 year younger than Harrison: Jessica and Tucker. Yes, Tucker Vee Jamieson and Harrison Vee Tucker--Pam's dad's name lives on! They went to visit cousins and to walk in a fundraiser for lupus. Leigh has lupus. They had a great time and the kids always love seeing their cousins.
Joseph Nordstrom, a former member of our church, died May 4 in Houston at the age of 91. His daughter, Wendy, Tommie and Doyal Pinkard's goddaughter, called them that evening to let them know. Many older members of the church will remember Joseph as well as his late wife, Barbro, whose memorial service was held in our church some years ago. Doyal and Joe had been friends since Doyal was a freshman in college and Joe was a graduate student at MIT. Joe served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, taught at Northeastern University and Clark University in Massachusetts, and then in Brazil in a U.S. outreach program under the auspices of the University of Houston. After about 10 years in Brazil, he returned to teach in Houston and then in Oklahoma. When he retired, he and Barbro moved to Austin, joined our church, and were active members until Barbro died and Joe's sight failed. He moved to Houston to be near his daughter and his son Joe. In addition to Wendy and Joe, he is survived by his elder son Carl, their spouses and children. After the service in Houston, they all gathered at Wendy's house and drank Manhattans in Joe's memory. That was his drink. The Pinkard's son Chris came for the service, flew into Austin, stayed with Doyal and Tommie and drove down with them. Joe was like a close uncle to him when he was growing up. Bill Royster led the service. It was in a Presbyterian church near Clear Lake. The service was very well attended, with folks from the U. of Houston, neighbors, old friends of the kids, the Vietnamese Joe and Barbro took in who lived with them for a good while, plus their families.
Mel and Pat Oakes had a wonderful trip to Spain (an Eldershostel tour for 2 1/2 weeks) followed by a week with friends in the south of England. The trip to Spain was amazing--filled with astounding art, architecture, history, flamenco, olive trees, food and wine--and more. It was a particular joy for Pat to see the places she had taught her 6th graders about, lo these many years ago--especially The Alhambra and Cordoba. While in England they stayed with old friends from FSU, celebrating 50 years of friendship--and the 4 of them spent a marvelous two days with Meredith (daughter of Mary Charles Williams) and Graham Parker. Meredith and Graham were fabulous hosts and showed them around Salcombe, the small resort town on the south coast of England. Of particular interest was seeing the Royal National Lifeboat Institution boats. The RNLI is an all-volunteer organization with bases all around the coast of the UK. Graham is the one in Salcombe who decides whether--or which--boats will be launched in case of an emergency. Meredith is a master cook--and both the Parkers are master sailors. They took Pat and Mel and Don and Ann out in their 52 foot sailboat (complete with two heads, a washer and dryer, and a computer station) for a short ride (it was blustery and rainy--no sails--just the motor). Meredith and Graham will spend the next two months sailing along the coast of France--tying up for a few days at a variety of ports. Mel's biggest thrill was seeing the Newcomen engine and museum in Dartmouth and the huge pump and engine at the canal in Claverton.
WORSHIP GIFTS
June will be here soon. If you have a poem, song, dramatic reading or some other offering you would like to share with the congregation during the summer, please contact Nodie Murphy at 255-4602, or by e-mailing: nodienice@gmail.com --or see her after Sunday service
JUNE BIRTHDAYS
2 Ches Towery
4 Stephanie Phillips
6 Debbie Appel-Knowlton
8 Katy Phillips
Maggie Towery
9 Tania String
11 Cheryl Appel
Jonathan Briggs
14 Whitney Barrett
Murphy Putz
15 Gavin Patrick Firestone
16 Nodie Murphy
17 Karl Putz
20 Emily Howicz
21 David Ashton
22 Dennis Tingle
26 Garry Cole
27 Marilyn Gaddis
28 Pat Oakes
Vic Appel
30 Eric Mubiriki
BRAZOS ASSOCIATION NEWS
On Saturday, April 26, United Christian Church hosted our Association Spring Meeting. We were blessed by the presence of Rev Tom Neilsen of Floresvillle (outside San Antonio), who shared with us about the mission trips he has led over several years partnering with a church group working in Alegría, El Salvador to build homes and other facilities. Tom shared with us that the relationships built between the people there and the US people visiting, even more than the physical work, are at the heart of the experience there, leading to profound insights and change in our Christian discipleship. Tom was the pastor for many years of Swiss United Church of Christ in the Wisconsin Conference, and led a partnership there between the conference and the El Salvador ministry. He is seeking to lead our conference toward a similar partnership. Folks from several other Association churches shared about their mission work, including the St. John's Burton trip to Chiapas, the United Christian trip to Ecuador (through Global Ministries of the UCC/Disciples of Christ), Friends Congregational's hosting of homeless people through Family Promise, and the joint Disciples/UCC summer mission trip for the Austin area churches. (I may have left someone out. Let me know if I have and I will put yours in next time so we can share our work and ideas.) In addition, Tom Vandestadt told us about the current work of Back Bay Mission, Charles Stark shared about opportunities at Slumber Falls camp, and I told people how to connect with the UCC hurricane rebuilding work in New Orleans along with other rebuilding opportunities near Galveston. Thanks to United Christian for providing a great welcome and dinner!
We have news, too, about a new church start and a church in transition. Rev. Ron Trimmer has resigned as pastor of Friedens UCC in Washington. His new call is to be the pastor of a UCC/Disciples new church start in Georgetown. Ron's last Sunday in Washington will be July 12. Our prayers are with the Trimmer family as they go in faith on this exciting and risky adventure in discipleship, and our prayers are with Friedens as they say farewell to the Trimmers and begin an interim period. This will be the third new church start in our Association, joining with St.Thomas who is now a Community in Connection with our conference (the first designated step in becoming a new church start), and Creative Spirit. For those of you who are still receiving the Strengthen the Church offerings, remember that half of this offering stays in the conference for the vital work these new churches are doing. Our prayers are with them!
Finally, thanks go to Cheryl von Ehrenkrook of Ft. Worth, who just led an outstanding workshop on "Dealing with Difficult Members" at St. John's Burton for our licensed and ordained ministers. Cheryl is a certified conflict resolution specialist, an attorney who served as an Air Force JAG lawyer, and a graduate of Brite Divinity School.
We look forward to seeing many of you at the South Central Conference Annual Meeting at Huston-Tillotson University on June 5-7 and at the Mission Education Event at United Christian on June 5.
Blessings in Christ,
Liz Nash, Brazos Association Minister
COFFEE HOUR
Please sign up in the Fellowship Room to be coffee hour hosts on an upcoming Sunday. The coffee hour time is such a good opportunity to visit old friends and meet visitors. We keep coffee and ginger ale and some punch fixings in the pantry in the kitchen. There are usually paper napkins, and we use coffee mugs and punch cups to avoid wasting natural resources. Your menu can be as simple or complicated as you want. Cookies and/or chips and salsa are just fine! If you have questions, talk to Pat Oakes, Tommie Pinkard, or Lynne Lemley.
Deadline for July/August VISITOR -- June 15
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